Sid Gets Mugged
by Simmer2000
Summary: After Sid is mugged late at night in an alleyway, he finds it hard to trust anybody, not even Arnold or his other friends. Rated PG13 for violence.


Hey Arnold!   
Sid Gets Mugged   
  
By Simmer2000   
  
Disclaimer: Hey Arnold! does not belong to me, and neither do any of the characters apart from the nameless character of the bully in this story, who I made up myself. Just a note: I do not want to see this story on any other site apart from fanfiction.net without my permission, or unless I have submitted it to a site myself. Thank you.   
  
The boy screamed and let out a yell. Then he realised that the thing that had startled him had only been his shadow. "Silly me," he thought to himself, and felt grateful that Stinky and Harold hadn't seen him at that moment. The boy's name was Sid, and he was nine years old. He wore his hat backwards and wore a black leather jacket over his white shirt. He was walking downtown at around 10 at night. He had been at his friend Harold's house all night, playing video games and eating pizza.   
  
As Sid walked down the dark street, he began to think that maybe he shouldn't have stayed out so late. The city was dangerous and scary at this time of night. Anything could happen to him. He could be murdered and nobody would find him for days..... "Keep those thoughts out of your mind," he told himself, and then thought that in ten minutes he would be sitting by a warm fire, drinking hot chocolate and watching TV. Not walking down the city streets with a rat running around his feet..... A rat? "Oh no," he said to himself, and attempted to kick the rodent away.   
  
He looked down to the ground and spotted something. "Boy howdy!" he said to himself with joy. "A ten dollar note!" He bent over to pick up the note, when it blew into an alleyway. Or so he thought..... actually it was attached to a piece of string. He didn't notice the large, muscular boy who was pulling the string and hiding in the shadows, not until it was too late. The boy jumped out of the shadows. Sid let out a high pitched scream, but nobody could hear him from the alleyway.   
  
"Give me some money," the boy grunted.   
  
"Never!" shouted Sid, suddenly feeling brave. "I'll shout louder, I promise! Somebody will hear!" But Sid's threats only prompted the bully to put his hand over Sid's mouth.   
  
"I want money, and I'm not letting you go until I get some," the boy grunted again, searching Sid's pockets. "Aha, bingo!" The bully pulled out Sid's brown, leather wallet and pulled out some money; 20 dollars in total.   
  
"You've got your money now, let me go," Sid pleaded, hoping that the bully would now let him free of his firm grasp. But it wasn't over yet, as the bully gave him three hard punches in the arm, and kicked him with a powerful force into some trashcans. Then he ran away, laughing.   
  
At first, Sid didn't think that he would be able to get up, but he found the strength to, despite his pain. He didn't know how bad the damage was yet, or whether the bruises were beginning to show or not. Where would he go now? Not to Harold's, he would only ask why he hadn't fought back, although Sid knew deep down that Harold would have probably done exactly the same thing as him, if faced with the same situation. His parents were out for the evening, and he needed somebody to talk to. A good listener. But who? Then he realised that the answer had been staring him in the face the whole time. He needed to talk to Arnold. He was a good listener, who would give good advice. His house was only a block away from where Sid was now.   
  
***   
  
Arnold pulled on his pyjamas, just about ready to go to bed for the night. Gerald had left about thirty minutes earlier, they had been playing chess together (well, Arnold had been teaching Gerald how to play) and Grandpa had shouted up to Arnold that it was time for bed. He made his way downstairs to say goodnight to the boarders, and to get some milk and cookies and was surprised to hear a loud knocking on the boarding house door.   
  
"Who could that be at this hour?" he asked aloud, and then secretly wondered whether this was Mitzi coming to pay a visit to Grandpa.   
  
Arnold opened the door and let out a gasp. It was Sid, and he looked badly beaten. His coat and shirt were ripped, and he could see red marks up and down each arms. What had happened to him? "Sid?" Arnold whispered in disbelief? "What on Earth happened to you? Have you been fighting? You'd better come inside!"   
  
Grandpa was now standing in the hallway and was about to tell whoever it was that it was too late to be knocking at the boarding house, but when he saw Sid he asked, "Short Man, what's happened to your little friend? He'd better come into the lounge and tell us all about it."   
  
***   
  
Sat in the comfort of Arnold's lounge, sipping at some hot chocolate, Sid told the whole story. Arnold and Grandpa suggested that maybe they should call the police, but Sid didn't want any more trouble, and wanted to just forget about it.   
  
"You know, when Arnold was mugged, we taught him the art of self defence," said Grandpa.   
  
"Let's not get into that mess again," sighed Arnold.   
  
"Come on Sid, I'll drive you home," offered Grandpa. "I don't want you walking the streets tonight. I'll phone your parents tomorrow since they're out tonight." Grandpa and Sid left, and Arnold made his way to bed.   
  
***   
  
The next morning, as soon as Arnold got out of his bed, the first thing that he did was phone Sid. Apparently, his parents were still out and had spent the night at a friend's house. "Are you sure that you're going to be able to come to school today?" Arnold asked. "You sound like you're still in shock."   
  
"Oh no," Sid reassured Arnold. "I'm totally over last night. I'll be okay. It's not like I'm ever going to see that bully again. See you at school."   
  
"See you," said Arnold, sounding unsure as to whether Sid was being entirely truthful.   
  
***   
  
Unfortunately for Sid, he had to walk past the same alleyway in order to get to school. He couldn't help but look at where he had been beaten up the previous night. Of course, there was nobody down the alleyway, but the trashcans were still knocked over from where Sid had been kicked onto them the previous night. Sid's bruises were mainly on his arms and legs, and now that he was wearing new clothes, nothing could really give him away.   
  
As Sid approached PS 118, he felt himself bump into somebody. He had been in a world of his own, thinking about how long he would be in pain for. He looked up to who he had bumped into. It was the boy. The bully from the previous night. He was looking smug, but also angry at the fact that he had been bumped into.   
  
"Hey, aren't you the little twirp who I got money from last night?" he laughed. Sid mumbled something quietly in response, which sounded like a yes. "You know, it's surprising what 20 dollars can get you on Ebay," he laughed. Maybe I should beat up little twirps more often, rather than stealing from houses."   
  
"Steal from me again... and I'll c-c-all the police," Sid stammered, but this only made the bully laugh even louder.   
  
"If you wanted to call the police, you would have done it already," he said. Then he whispered in Sid's ear, "And the cops don't scare me. I'll be looking out for you in the future. Don't know where you get your money from, but it's good news for me." The boy gave Sid another punch, and walked away.   
  
***   
  
Meanwhile, Arnold had collected the rest of his class together along with Mr. Simmons to tell them all about what had happened to Sid. After he had finished the story, Arnold pleaded, "You have to be nice to Sid today. He says that he's over it, but I think that he's just bottling it up so we don't think he's chicken."   
  
"Sure, Football Head, whatever you say," said Helga. "We'll be nice to him, it sounds like he's been through a lot."   
  
"I knew I should have walked him home last night!" said Harold. "Sid can't look after himself, nobody would have dared touch him if I was with him!"   
  
"Oh come on, Pink Boy," laughed Helga. "What would you be able to do, run home crying to your Mommy?"   
  
"Shut up Helga, I could take you any day!" shouted Harold.   
  
Mr. Simmons had been listening with concern on his face, and was now angry at the fact that yet again, an argument had broken out between Harold and Helga. "Stop with all this arguing and talk of fighting!" he said, trying to remain calm. "Okay, Arnold, we'll try our best to be extra-sensitive around Sid this morning..."   
  
Mr. Simmons stopped talking immediately as Sid walked into the classroom. The class went quiet. Arnold was the first to break the silence. "Hi Sid," he said. "I was just telling Mr. Simmons about what happened to you last night."   
  
"Oh," said Sid awkwardly. He hadn't expected Arnold to tell the class and Mr. Simmons about what had happened, but he felt grateful to Arnold because it saved him from having to explain things to his friends.   
  
"Sounds like you had a pretty bad time last night," Gerald said.   
  
"I know exactly how you feel, Sid," Arnold reassured him. "When I was mugged, I was scared on the streets for weeks, even with martial arts. I suppose the martial arts were just a way to cover up my fear."   
  
"Sorry for not walking home with you last night," Harold said. "But the wrestling match was about to start!" Harold gave Sid a playful punch on his arm, not expecting the response that he got.   
  
Sid flinched with the pain. This had been one of the places were the bully had punched him. "OW!" he screamed.   
  
"Oh sorry Sid.... I forgot..... I didn't mean," Harold said, realising how stupid he had been.   
  
Sid felt himself becoming more and more nervous around his friends..... or where they his friends? How could he trust anybody now? Did he really know these people well enough? Maybe they were just pretending to be nice. To gain his trust. Maybe Harold was giving him a taste of what was to come. He couldn't trust anybody in the room, even Arnold. "You aren't my friends!" Sid shouted.   
  
"Sid, what are you talking about?" Arnold asked, becoming more and more concerned for Sid every minute.   
  
"How do I know that you lot aren't going to rob me when I'm not looking?" he shouted. "How do I know that I can trust you Arnold, if that is your real name?" Sid was looking at Arnold very suspiciously. "I DON'T KNOW ANY OF YOU AT ALL!"   
  
Right then, Sid ran out of the room and out of the school, leaving his confused friends behind. Arnold started to run after him, but Mr. Simmons stopped him. "Leave him Arnold," he advised. "This is just Sid's special way of dealing with things."   
  
***   
  
Arnold couldn't concentrate on his work that day, because he was so worried about Sid. He wondered how Sid could be unable to trust him and the other fourth graders. As soon as the school bell rang, he made his way to Sid's house so that he could talk with him and make him see sense. But, Sid wouldn't answer the door. Arnold knew that Sid could hear him, so he spoke to him from behind the door.   
  
"Sid, I know you're feeling scared right now, but you need somebody to talk to," Arnold started. "You have to be able to trust somebody, and I think that you should be able to trust me and the rest of our class. Come to school tomorrow, and I'll prove to you that you can trust us." After that, Arnold walked home, and began to get an idea...... He telephoned the rest of his class to share his plan.   
  
***   
  
The next morning, Sid had no choice but to go to school. His parents were back, and didn't believe that Sid was sick, because Sid had already used the same excuses three times that month. Of course, he didn't have to go to school, he could just go to the movies, or something else, but Sid figured that it was safer at school than he was walking the streets. What if the bully saw him again? But, what if he was waiting for him outside school? Sid had to take a risk. He was going to school.   
  
Meanwhile, Arnold was preparing his plan to gain Sid's trust back. He had phoned all of his friends from his class, and they had all agreed to help. Arnold emptied his piggy bank and put some money into his pockets. He also picked up a poem that he had written and set off to school.   
  
***   
  
Sid was extremely nervous. The bully now knew which school Sid went to, and could be waiting for him. Plus, Sid still was unsure as to whether he could trust the rest of his class. Arnold had said that he would prove it to him, but what if that was his plan to get Sid to come to school?   
  
Sid reached the school, where he saw a familiar face. It was the bully. He had been waiting for him. Sid's heart was pounding. He couldn't run away, the bully would easily catch up to him. He walked towards the bully. "Hi twirp," he smiled. "Got any cash?"   
  
"N-no," Sid stammered. "I've got nothing. You'll have to let me go. I haven't got anything for you."   
  
"Not good enough," the bully growled, raising his fist.   
  
A voice could be heard from behind Sid, but Sid couldn't see who it was. "Hey, leave him alone," the voice growled. Sid turned around. It was Torvald.   
  
"Hey, I was only playing with him," the bully told Torvald. He was looking worried now, but also seemed to be looking Torvald up and down, thinking about which boy would win in a fight.   
  
"I heard about you yesterday in class," said Torvald. "You took money from this boy. I want it back."   
  
"I spent most of it!" the bully whimpered, suddenly realising that Torvald probably would win in a fight. "I've only got two dollars left." He took the money out of his pocket, putting it in Sid's hand. "See, no harm done."   
  
"Not yet," Torvald smiled, clenching his fists, edging closer to the bully.   
  
"Torvald!" a voice said from behind. It was Arnold. "If you hit this boy, you'll be just as bad as him."   
  
"What's your point?" asked Torvald, looking mystified.   
  
"My point is that you should let him go this time," said Arnold. The crowd of PS 118 students that had gathered around the scene groaned. They were here to see a fight.   
  
"Next time," Torvald warned the bully. "If you touch anybody in my class again, I'll be looking for you."   
  
"Okay!" the bully promised, holding his hands up. "I won't touch any of them."   
  
The school bell rang for the start of school. The crowd departed from the scene quickly and Sid thanked Torvald. "For what?" asked Torvald. "It was fun for me."   
  
As Arnold and Gerald walked into school Gerald asked, "Why didn't you let Torvald give that bully some punches? He deserved it after what he did to Sid."   
  
"Two wrongs don't make a right, Gerald," said Arnold plainly.   
  
"Yes they do!"   
  
"No they don't!"   
  
"Yes they do!"   
  
"No they don't!"   
  
"You're a bold kid, Arnold."   
  
"Why do you always say that?"   
  
"Habit."   
  
***   
  
The scene in the classroom was better than that of the previous day. Sid was happy to be with his friends, and now didn't have to worry about the bully any more. "We have a surprise for you," Arnold told Sid as they settled into their seats. "We all decided to each put some money forward to make up for what you lost. There's even more than 20 dollars here, there's 23 I think. Everybody in the class put some money forward, even Mr. Simmons."   
  
"Thanks so much guys," said Sid. "I can't believe I doubted you."   
  
"How about an outdoor nature lesson?" asked Mr. Simmons. The class cheered.   
  
As they all walked out of the classroom, Sid asked Harold, "Isn't that my watch? And my necklace? Are those my SHOES?"   
  
THE END.   
Until my next fan fic.... goodbye readers! :-)


End file.
